A/N: So sorry it's been so long since I've updated this story! I apologize! I hadn't forgotten about it, life just got crazy and work has been taking up most of my time. Thank you to hoellenwauwau, whose review made me realize how long it's been since the last chapter. I actually had a chunk of this already written, but I finally worked out the rest of the chapter yesterday and buckled down to write and post it today since I have the day off. And thank you to everyone who's reviewed, and everyone who's still reading! I hope you all continue to enjoy!

1969

Murdock kept repeating his name, and trying to get him to calm down. It wasn't working. BA just ignored him and continued stomping on. The scowl on his face was fierce enough to have everyone that saw it clear a path to avoid getting in his way.

"BA, come on, let's just talk about this for a minute," the pilot tried placating the big man.

The sergeant just growled, and shrugged the captain off.

Murdock sighed, but then he realized BA's destination and quickly put two and two together. "Oh shit," he muttered, and then took off at a run.

0

"Colonel, we got a problem," the pilot panted when he shot into the hooch like a bat out of hell.

Reyes and Combs turned away from their card game and Peck looked up from cleaning his rifle to stare at the captain. Ray and Hannibal shared a confused, but worried, glance before Hannibal started toward Murdock.

"What's going on Captain?" Hannibal asked calmly.

"The big mudsucker," Murdock started with a gasp, trying to catch his breath. "He –"

But he never got to finish the sentence before BA stormed into the hooch with such force that Reyes and Combs actually shared a look that said they thought it was about to crash down on top of them.

"Sergeant!" Hannibal snapped. He saw the fury in the man's eyes, and knew he had to get his attention to figure out what was going on, and quickly.

The word fell upon deaf ears though, as BA locked onto the lieutenant and started towards him.

Peck realized this a moment sooner than the colonel, and was already on his feet readying for a fight when Hannibal said a quick, "Murdock!" with a look that told the captain what to do.

The pilot grabbed the lieutenant's arm and started to pull him out of the angry sergeant's path. Peck wanted to argue, but the colonel had already stepped in front of BA's way.

"SERGEANT!" Hannibal barked again, but with a commanding tone he rarely used except in situations like this when one of his men just wasn't hearing anything else.

It did the trick. BA finally heard the colonel's words at the same time he realized his commanding officer was also standing between him and his quarry.

Seeing he had the man's attention, Hannibal was tempted to sigh in relief, but retained a hard expression. "You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here, Sergeant?" It wasn't a request, and they all knew it.

"He's a drug dealer!" BA snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Peck.

Reyes and Combs's heads snapped over to the lieutenant, who was still being held back by Murdock. Their widened eyes and furrowed brows gave away their shock. Ray just let out a small sigh, but kept his eyes on the colonel and sergeant. Murdock had already figured out most of the story, so he was just concentrating on keeping Peck away from BA so they didn't get into another fistfight.

Hannibal's expression softened into a complete calm. He turned just enough to look at the lieutenant, but not enough for BA to get by him. "You wanna tell 'em Lieutenant, or should I?"

Peck was barely resisting the pilot's effort to keep him and BA separated anymore, but he did keep trying, without success, to shrug out of the captain's grasp. He'd shown no reaction to BA's declaration of his being a drug dealer. At Hannibal's question, he'd just glared back. But the colonel could tell he was trying not to squirm. Whatever impression he gave off, Hannibal had figured out the kid didn't like when all the attention was focused on him.

Seeing the kid wasn't going to answer, Hannibal explained for him. "Our lieutenant here was involved in some – how should I put it – less than savory deals before he joined us. But that's over now. Right lieutenant?"

Peck rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic nod when he realized they were all staring at him, waiting for an answer.

BA still looked livid though. And he was, especially at Hannibal's nonchalance about the whole thing. He wasn't surprised that the colonel had already known, but he had thought the older man would be more bothered by it.

Combs and Reyes looked at each other, neither sure how to react. Murdock was keeping his hold on Peck. The captain could feel the energy radiating off of him, and knew the kid was ready to bolt or lash out.

But it was the big burly sergeant standing in front of Hannibal who lashed out. "He should be in jail!" he raged.

In a split second, Peck's sudden relaxation surprised Murdock enough that his hold loosened when he looked back at him to figure out what had just happened, and that was all the kid needed to slip out of his grasp and get out of reach.

Strolling past the colonel and irate BA, Peck tossed out, "Let me know when you figure it out. I'll be in the supply tent."

The casualness of his tone had the others staring at him in bewilderment as they watched him leave.

Hannibal's hand shot out to grab BA's arm when the sergeant started to follow the kid. "Easy BA, let him go."

BA turned on the colonel. "He's a criminal Hannibal, and you knew the whole time!"

Calmly, the older man nodded simply. "Yes, I did." There was a challenge in the colonel's voice, and it made BA pause for a moment.

"Then why'd you put him on the team Colonel?" Combs asked in honest curiosity.

Looking back at the rest of the team after he was sure his furious sergeant wasn't going to storm off after the lieutenant, Hannibal answered with a shrug, "We needed a supply officer, and the kid's the best there is." His voice may have been light, but his team could see in his eyes that he was taking this seriously.

"You knew too," Reyes accused, looking straight at Ray.

With a small shrug, the XO nodded his admission.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Hannibal addressed them all in a firm tone. "Look guys, we've all made mistakes. Everybody deserves a second chance. Besides, he's just a kid. He's still learning."

The team digested the colonel's words in silence for a minute.

Chuckling all of a sudden, Combs asked, "He's not twenty-two, is he?"

Smirking, but with a touch of sadness in his eyes, Hannibal shook his head. "No. He's eighteen."

"What?!"

Ray was staring at Hannibal. That was one piece of information he hadn't known before. And he knew the colonel hadn't known when he first pulled the kid out of the brig either.

"So what now Colonel?" Murdock asked.

Hannibal shrugged. "Now you guys know more about your teammate."

"You're not turning him in?" It wasn't really a question, more of a realization, but Reyes still wanted an answer.

"No," the colonel said. "Regardless of how forged his records may be, Peck's good. And he's got a lot of potential. He can be an asset to this team."

"But he don't wanna be part of a team," BA pointed out bluntly.

Letting out a soft chuckle, Hannibal nodded his agreement.

"That's where we come in, right Hannibal?" Murdock cut in before the colonel could reply.

Hannibal smiled at the pilot. "Right Murdock."

0

"You know BA's still pissed as hell, right?"

Hannibal chuckled as he looked across his desk at Ray. "I'd be surprised if he wasn't."

"Were you ever going to tell me how old he really is?"

The serious tone and somber look in his second's eyes got the colonel's undivided attention. It was a moment before he answered. When he did, it was slow and quiet. "Maybe."

"Why?" Ray shot back firmly.

"What's your first reaction?" Hannibal asked instead.

"To send him home," the captain answered instantly and honestly.

"Exactly!"

The colonel's 'aha!' tone made Ray pause. He narrowed his eyes at the older man in questioning.

"You told me yourself Ray, the kid said he didn't have parents; doesn't get mail from anyone," Hannibal pointed out. "You really think he's got a home to go back to?"

Ray looked down. Sighing, he shook his head slowly.

"Look," Hannibal sighed. "There's a lot we don't know about this kid, and I have a feeling it would explain a lot. But think about what we do know, what we suspect… Do you honestly think he'd be better off stateside?"

Taking a deep breath, Ray responded with a shrug. "I don't know."

0

After leaving the supply tent, Peck had decided he needed a drink. He didn't know what had happened after he'd left the hooch, but he was in no rush to find out. It wasn't that he cared that the others had found out about him selling drugs, because he didn't. And he honestly didn't care if he ended up in another fight with BA. But the big sergeant's comment about how he should be in jail had struck a nerve Peck hadn't been aware was there. Being the topic of conversation, especially when he was standing right there, was something he'd never enjoyed. So he'd left. Since no MPs had come to arrest him, the lieutenant figured he was safe from that particular fate, for now at least. Now, the only question was if he was going to be transferred to another team, again, or if his life was just about to get a lot more uncomfortable.

He hadn't noticed when he first came in, but after the bartender handed him his drink, Peck saw Reyes sitting at the other end of the bar with his own whisky. And he'd caught the medic's eyes too.

Looking away, the lieutenant focused on his drink. As he was waving down the bartender for a refill, Reyes sat down next to him.

"You can't avoid us all forever."

Peck wasn't sure if that was meant as a joke, both because of the sergeant's low voice and the level of seriousness in the man's eyes that the lieutenant hadn't seen in him before. Instead of replying, he just started on his next drink.

"Shouldn't be drinking either."

There was less than a split second of hesitation in the lieutenant's hand as he sat the glass back down. It was so quick that no one caught it. But the medic's comment told Peck that his real age was something else Hannibal had decided to share.

"I get it, ya know." Reyes saw the kid's confusion, and continued, "The drugs. My brother Gabriel, he sold drugs too."

Now the lieutenant was looking at the medic.

"And it's what got him killed." The harsh tone, and the words themselves, had Peck's eyes on his drink again as Reyes explained, "A deal went south, and he got shot." The medic took another drink when the kid wouldn't look at him. "It 'bout destroyed my mother. Part of why she hated it so much when I got drafted. She's terrified she's gonna lose another son." Taking a deep breath, Reyes shook his head before staring hard at the lieutenant. "You see, the people that use drugs aren't the only ones whose lives are ruined by drugs."

"You think I don't know that?!" Peck retorted sharply, glaring at the medic.

"Do you?" Reyes challenged.

The lieutenant looked like he was about to snap back. But he resisted the urge, and turned away, downing the rest of his drink before gesturing for another.

Reyes drained the rest of his drink as well. Satisfied he'd made his point, he paid his tab and left without another word.

0

By the time Peck got back to the hooch, he was fighting to stay up straight, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He had a lot of practice. So while he couldn't hide the fact that he was drunk, he could hide how much it was affecting him.

Hannibal and Ray had been pulled into a briefing about an upcoming mission, but the others were there. BA's glare followed the lieutenant from the second he walked in. Reyes watched him for a moment, but then went back to cleaning his rifle. Murdock looked like he was still reading his magazine, but he was really paying attention to everyone else.

Combs waited until Peck had sat down and started to shrug off his fatigue shirt before he asked the question he needed to know. "You stopped, right LT?"

Not needing to be a mind reader to know what he'd meant, Peck paused. Sighing, he nodded.

After the shirt had been discarded, the lieutenant bent over to untie his boots when Murdock's voice stopped him short.

"That's what the fight with Powell was about, huh?"

The pilot sounded understanding, and his casualness gave away that he'd already put the pieces together. But the topic was wearing thin on Peck, and his annoyance started to show when he rolled his eyes. "Yeah."

BA, who was still seething about the whole situation, couldn't take the kid's attitude anymore. "You don't even care, do you?" he growled, disgusted. "All those people you screwed over for money; hurt by selling them poison… You don't even care about them."

Shaking his head in frustration, the lieutenant stood up so forcefully his cot scooted the opposite direction. Peck had had it. Glaring at BA, he snapped out, "You wanna know why your friend McKinney is so pissed off at me? Because yes, I sold him drugs. And yes, he blew all his money on them. But I cut him off when he kept buying more and more. He's not just using it to unwind; he's fucking hooked." Turning his fierce gaze onto Reyes, the kid added in an only slightly calmer tone, "Believe it or not, I do know how bad drugs are." Storming back out of the hooch, he grumbled to himself, "It's what got me here in the first place."

A/N: Hope you liked that chapter! I'm not gonna promise a quick update. But now that my work schedule is regular, I'm trying to get back into a writing routine. I don't really have any time except my days off to write, but I will try to update at least once a month from now on. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!